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Wednesday, July 6, 2016

WORLD ARCHITECTURE / WILLIAM F. CODY RETROSPECTIVE

J.B. Shamel residence, 1963. Award of Merit winner in recognition of an outstanding contribution to Homes for Better Living by the A.I.A. in cooperation with House and Home and the American Home Magazines. Photo: Julius Shulman, via A+D Museum, LA.

When it
comes to mid-century residential and commercial architects, who worked the
Southern California deserts, William F. Cody’s name will be brought up by those
who appreciate modern design.Outside of
the region many others will not recognize his name.

Nonetheless,
William F. Cody is a giant among American mid-century architects working in
that genre.Below we repost Mr. Cody’s
career credentials, but the news for now is the fact there will be a
retrospective of his work now through September 25, 2016 at Los Angeles’ Architecture
and Design Museum in L.A.

Del Marcos Hotel, Palm Springs

Titled, Fast
Forward: The Architecture of William F. Cody, which will feature color
renderings and photos of long-long structures as well as personal sketches—all
coinciding with his 100th birthday.

In
announcing the exhibit, the Los Angeles Times pointed out “during Palm
Springs’ heyday in the 1950s and ’60s, odds were likely that you’d pass by or
walk into a restaurant, hotel or country club designed by architect William F.
Cody.

“Unfortunately
many of Cody’s Midcentury Modern designs have gone the way of the wrecking
ball. That includes his quirky Googie-style Huddle’s Springs Restaurant, as
well as the Palm Springs Spa Hotel’s translucent canopy-covered walkway,” said
the LA Times

EXHIBIT
VENUE:

A+D Museum,
also known as Architecture and Design Museum, Los Angeles, is a museum for architecture
and design in Los Angeles, California. It is located in Downtown Los Angeles
Arts District at 900 E 4th Street.

EXHIBIT BIO:

William F.
Cody (1916 – 1978) was a legend in his own time. His architectural practice was
prolific, diversified, and engaged a celebrity clientele that included Walt
Disney, Frank Sinatra, and Bing Crosby. His projects ranged from residential
homes and condominiums, to commercial centers and industrial complexes, to city
and community master planning. Although a majority of Cody’s built work was
concentrated in California and Arizona, he had commissions in Texas, Nevada,
Colorado, Hawaii, Mexico, Honduras, and Cuba. This exhibition is the first
comprehensive overview of Cody’s architecture based on primary archival
research. It is a tribute to one of the “giants” of the midcentury modern
movement and celebrates Cody’s centennial.

Cody’s
projects were published internationally, and he was widely acknowledged as a
forward-thinking, urbane architect who merged luxury with technology to achieve
a high-style experimental modernism. A master renderer with an eye for art and
interior design, Cody also pushed the boundaries of engineering and space
planning. His career ended early when he died at the age of 62, at the prime of
his practice. With the recent reassessments of midcentury architecture that
embrace a broad understanding of modern design—from dynamic planning to rich
interior decoration. Cody’s work is increasingly recognized as a formative
contribution to architectural history.

Cody left
behind a legacy of important contributions and his influence continues to serve
as inspiration for successive generations of designers. The objects on display
created by architecture students of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, inspired by the
designs of William Cody, are a testament to Cody’s relevance to the ongoing
dialogue of architecture.

William Francis Cody (June 19, 1916 –
August 29, 1978) was an influential desert modern architect working in Palm
Springs during the peak of the Modern Architecture Movement. Like many of the
architects during the mid-20th century, Cody designed almost anything Palm
Springs allowed him to; houses, cluster housing, churches, offices,
restaurants, schools, hotels, and club houses. His residential projects
illustrated simplicity of form, natural light, and large windows displaying a
smooth connection between interior and exterior. Cody maintained a diverse
practice in the Coachella Valley of California. His work included designing
country clubs, residences, hotels, a library, and church projects in Palm
Springs, Indian Wells, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, and in southern California,
Arizona, Mexico, and Cuba.While
attending Santa Monica Junior College, Cody worked for architects Heath Warton
and Asa Hudson. In 1943 Cody worked for an Oakland based engineering firm on a
Kaiser Steel, a.k.a. Kaiser Ventures, plant in Fontana, California. During this
year he also worked for the San Francisco firm of Blanchard, Maher, and Ward on
Navy installations on Treasure Island.

In 1944 he
worked primarily on National Design Award- winning elementary and high school
buildings in California and Arizona for Marsh, Smith, and Powell in Los
Angeles. It was also in 1944 that Cody worked for Cliff May, a leading southern
California building designer, on May's influential Pace-Setter House.

In 1945 Cody
was retained to alter the Desert Inn in Palm Springs. By 1946 Cody was licensed
to practice architecture in California and Arizona, and in 1946 Cody received
his first independent commission for completing the Del Marcos Hotel, winning
him a "creditable mention" award in 1949 by the southern California
chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Cody
capitalized on Palm Springs becoming a retreat for the rich and famous by
moving his practice there. In 1950 he was retained to convert the Thunderbird
Dude Ranch into the Thunderbird Country Club. This successful conversion led to
Cody being commissioned to design or alter clubhouses, recreational facilities,
and residential developments at Eldorado Country Club, Tamarisk Country Club,
the Racquet Club, the Tennis Club and the Seven Lakes Clubhouse.

Cody began,
nearly a decade of work, altering and expanding upon the Palm Springs Country
Spa Hotel in 1960. Cody's specialization in country club clubhouses along with
associated residential developments led to his being commissioned in
California, Arizona, Texas, Cuba, and Mexico.

Cody's
latest commissions of note are located in Palm Springs: St. Theresa Catholic
Church and Convent, and buildings for the Palm Springs Planning Collaborative
including the Palm Springs Library.

Work with
Robert P. McCulloch. When Robert P. McCulloch founded Lake Havasu City,
Arizona, Cody designed, expanded upon, and altered McCulloch Corporation's
chainsaw plant there. He went on to design residential developments in Lake
Havasu City and Fountain Hills in Scottsdale. He also designed an Eldorado
tract in Indian Wells, California.

Finally,
Cody designed a corporate complex for McCulloch near LAX as well as making
alterations to a house at Thunderbird Country Club for McCulloch and his wife.

1944-46: Two
first place national awards from the American Institute of Architects (A.I.A.)
for the Suva Elementary School and Corona Del Mar Elementary School while head
designer the firm of March, Smith & Powell in Los Angeles, CA

1949: Certificate
of Honor for exceptional merit in its class for the Hotel Del Marcos, Palm
Springs, CA by the Southern California Chapter of the A.I.A.

1962: Design
Award by the A.I.A. in cooperation with House & Home and Life Magazines for
the W. & J. Sloane Display House, La Quinta, CA

1962:
Honorable Mention by the A.I.A. in cooperation with House and Home and Life in
recognition of an outstanding contribution to Homes for a Better Living

1963:
Recognition Award by the A.I.A. in cooperation with House and Home and the
American Home Magazines for the Robert Cannon Residence, Palm Desert, CA

1963: Honor
Award by the Southern California Chapter of the A.I.A. selected by an
International Panel of Judges for the Cannon Residence, Palm Desert, CA

1964: Two
Design Awards by the A.I.A.; one for the Robert Cannon Residence and other for
the J. B. Shamel Residence, Palm Desert, CA

1964: Award
of Merit in recognition of an outstanding contribution to Homes for Better
Living by the A.I.A. in cooperation with House and Home and the American Home
Magazines

1965:
Recognition Award for outstanding aesthetic design in structural steel by the
American Institute of Steel Construction for J.B. Shamel Residence

1965: Award
by the American Institute of Steel Construction for Western Savings & Loan
Association, Phoenix, AZ

1965:
Appreciation Award as Citizen of Distinction for Public Services by the People
of the City of Palm Springs

1965:
Elected to the College of Fellows by the A.I.A. for Achievement in Design

1966: Valley
Beautification Award by the Valley Beautiful Citizens Council, Inc. for the
Western Savings & Loan Building at 525 East Mill Avenue, Tempe, AZ